[For Elementary and Middle School Students Only] Echigo-Tsumari Forest School 2027: Little New Year (2 Nights, 3 Days)
Open
Experience the “Bird Chasing” and “Dondo-yaki” festivals—celebrations of a bountiful harvest held during Little New Year in the Sansho district of Matsunoyama—on this 2-night, 3-day tour. Stay at “Sansho House,” an accommodation for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field housed in a renovated former school, and fully immerse yourself in life in a snowy region while interacting with local residents!
《Tour Highlights》
・Plenty of hands-on activities, including preparing local cuisine and making “chin-koro,” traditional good-luck charms.
・Accommodations: Sansho House (2 nights)
・Meals: 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners
《Tour Highlights》
・Plenty of hands-on activities, including preparing local cuisine and making “chin-koro,” traditional good-luck charms.
・Accommodations: Sansho House (2 nights)
・Meals: 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners
9:28–10:47
[Day 1] <FOR guests on the plan that includes a Shinkansen ticket> Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Echigo-Yuzawa Station (guides will meet you in front of the ticket gates at Tokyo Station and lead the way)
11:00
Meet in front of the ticket gates at Echigo-Yuzawa Station / Departure
12:00
[Lunch] Echigo Matsudai Satoyama Shokudo, Matsudai NOHBUTAI
Lunch Featuring Seasonal Ingredients from the Satoyama
This buffet features a selection of dishes made with fresh vegetables grown by local farmers, offering a modern twist on traditional regional flavors. Enjoy your meal while taking in the view of The Rice Fields and the surrounding countryside.
The entire building is composed of art. A hub facility for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field
You can view “Kavakov’s Dream,” a project by Ilya & Emilia Kavakov, one of the leading artist duos of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field.
When you think of winter in Echigo-Tsumari, you think of “playing in the snow.”
Let's have fun with snow tubes and snowboards in the snow-covered field near Matsudai NOHBUTAI!
3:00 p.m.
Sansho House Check-In
Spending time in the wooden school building on the hill overlooking the village
A former elementary school in the area that was converted into lodging following the 2006 Echigo-Tsumari Art Field. We’ll spend Little New Year in this wooden school building perched on a hill that still watches over the village.
5:00 p.m.
Lantern Release & Snow Fireworks
A Wish Under the Night Sky
Let’s launch lanterns filled with our wishes into the winter night sky. (Venue: New Greenpia Tsunan)
Bathing at a day-trip hot spring facility
(Photo for illustrative purposes only)
[Dinner] Sansho House
Let's eat some freshly made mochi
Let's make mochi using a pestle and mortar. When we all work together, the mochi tastes even better.
10:00 p.m.
Bedtime
8:00
[Day 2] Breakfast
Making Chin-koro
Tokamachi Specialties: Winter Good-Luck Charms
"Chinkoro" are puppy-shaped talismans that have been made in the Echigo-Tsumari region since the Edo period. Once completed, they develop cracks—a sign that the chinkoro is protecting you from misfortune. Come make your very own chinkoro.
11:30
[Lunch] Hegi Soba
Taste Tokamachi's Local Delicacies
One of Tokamachi’s signature dishes, featuring smooth, easy-to-swallow soba noodles made with “funori” seaweed as a binding agent, served in a bowl called a “hegi.” (Photo for illustrative purposes only.)
Echigo-Matsunoyama Museum of Natural Science “Kyororo”
A Small Science Museum in a Snowy Region
With its unique, slender appearance, Kyororo is a regional natural science museum where visitors can enjoy exhibits focused on the biodiversity of the local satoyama landscape, as well as artworks both inside and outside the building. In winter, it withstands a 2,000-metric-ton load beneath deep snow, much like a submarine. “Kyororo” is not just about the exhibits inside—the building itself is a work of art. Its serpentine shape is inspired by the surrounding walking trails.
4:30 p.m.
Bird Scare
Participating in Local Events
A Little New Year festival held to ward off birds that ravage the fields and pray for a bountiful harvest. Local fathers teach the children the “bird-chasing” song, and the children then go from house to house in the neighborhood, singing as they go.
6:00 p.m.
[Bathing] Nast View Yuyama
Relax at One of Japan's Three Great Medicinal Hot Springs
Let's take a dip at the day-trip hot spring facility in Matsunoyama Onsen, one of Japan's Three Great Medicinal Hot Springs. (Photo for illustrative purposes only)
7:30 p.m.
[Dinner] Sansho House
10:00 p.m.
Bedtime
8:00
[Day 3] Breakfast
9:30
Dondo-yaki
Participating in Local Events
A Little New Year festival where fires are lit to pray for a bountiful harvest and good health. Visitors can watch as the community burns lucky charms and calligraphy pieces they have brought.
11:30
[Lunch] Making Local Dishes
Learning from the Mothers of the Urada Community
You'll learn how to make local dishes using regional ingredients under the guidance of the mothers in the Urada community.
3:40 p.m.
Echigo-Yuzawa Station—End of Tour
4:00 PM–5:20 PM
<FOR guests on the Shinkansen-included plan> Take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Echigo-Yuzawa Station (guides will accompany you to the ticket gates at Tokyo Station)
Notice
Please be sure to read this before applying.Important Notes for Participants in the “Echigo-Tsumari Forest School 2027: Little New Year” Program
Summary
| Dates | January 9 (Sat) – 11 (Mon, holiday), 2027 |
|---|---|
| Admission | Trip Cost: Junior High School Students 52,000 yen, Elementary School Students 50,000 yen (includes bus fare, meals, lodging, hot spring admission, program participation fees, artwork exhibition admission, and consumption tax) [Plan with Shinkansen Tickets Included] Includes round-trip Shinkansen tickets departing from and returning to Tokyo Station: Junior high school students 66,000 yen, elementary school students 57,000 yen (includes round-trip Shinkansen tickets, bus fare, meals, lodging, hot spring admission, program participation fees, artwork exhibition admission, and consumption tax) |
| Deadline | Sales end at midnight 4 days before the departure date, or once capacity is reached. [Shinkansen Ticket Package] Until midnight on Thursday, December 24. |
| Origin / Destination | Echigo-Yuzawa Station East Exit Bus Terminal |
| Transportation | Chartered Bus (Minami-Echigo Kotsu) |
| Capacity | 20 people |
| Host | Travel Planning and Operation: Niigata Prefecture Governor-Registered Travel Agency No. 2-440; NPO Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Collaborative Organization; 3743-1 Matsudai, Tokamachi city, Niigata Prefecture; Full Member of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA); 025-761-7749 / officialtour@tsumari-artfield.com |
| Note |
・Guides will accompany the group; however, a tour escort will not be present. [Inquiries] |
Official Tours / Itineraries
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